


Mirrored Approach

by TenkeyLess



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Arguing, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Mistaken Identity, Reconciliation, Sibling Rivalry, Slice of Life, Studium days, Swapping places, school crushes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25650688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenkeyLess/pseuds/TenkeyLess
Summary: A case of mistaken identity causes frustration for both Leveilleur twins.A slice of life from their Studium days, back in Sharlayan, with a brief glimpse of the perils of sharing the same features.Yet, for all its drawbacks, neither would trade their twin for anything.
Relationships: Alisaie Leveilleur & Alphinaud Leveilleur
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18
Collections: Summer Fic Exchange 2020





	Mirrored Approach

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HawkSong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HawkSong/gifts).



Alisae is _furious_ , anger heating her skin like a bad sunburn. _How dare_ Alphinaud spin his words and ensnare dolts who can't even tell them apart. _Again_ her precious sparring time was interrupted by cooing schoolgirls, none of them the wiser as to why frail 'Alphinaud' was trading blows with the Studium's best without breaking a sweat. She worries her lip at how easily she let them distract her, letting in a vital blow from her sparring partner and ending their bouts for the day. 

How quickly and shamelessly they'd pounced on 'Alphinaud' to offer dim praise. How quickly they'd scattered when she turned her tongue on them. Growling to herself, Alisae stalks the halls of the Studium, students scattering before her like grain under a scythe. 

Storming into the art studio where Alphinaud spends his days outside of classes (if the library has not trapped him), she slams the door open with enough force that it bounces back-nearly catching her on the nose. Frustrated, Alisae shouts her brother's name. A familiar silver head pops up to check the commotion, glancing at the door, before vanishing behind the heavy canvas shielding him from sight.

"Aha, Alisae! Excellent timing sister. Be a dear and fetch me a charcoal from the bin by the door?" Alphinaud commands. 

Alisae's fingers twitch with the need to upend the bin over her pretentious brother's head. Instead, she selects a fat charcoal stick and stalks over to his easel. He extends a hand sight unseen and she slaps the dusty cylinder into it, childishly pleased as his shirt cuff is marred. He frowns, and finally deigns to look at her.

"Now what was that for?"

"Why, dear brother, it was merely an onze of the frustration I'm feeling from your careless actions this semester. It's ever so important we share these things equally as twins, is it not?"

He stiffens at the cloying honey of her tone, shoulders rising to his ears as he slowly shifts on his stool to face her. His brow furrows at her murderous look.

"Frustration, at my hand?" He shakes his head disparagingly. "Lest you need reminding, dear sister, we don't even share classes this semester. How could _I_ be the source of _any_ of your woes."

" _That_! That attitude right there is why! Throwing out pretty words without _taking responsibility. Really._ If you're the older sibling, _act like it_ and acknowledge the problem." 

By the end of her tirade, Alisae is nose to nose with her brother. He leans in just as hard as she, pride pricked by her argument. 

"Oh! As though you're doing a fine job yourself! Coming in here, slamming doors, speaking in riddles as though I'm gifted with reading minds." 

"Perhaps if you _looked_ at more than your easel you'd _see_ the problems you gather like a shepherd."

Youthful face flushed in anger, Alphinaud looks a far cry from the elegant student he aims to be. He never can keep his temper when Alisae bends her will to breaking it. And, as hoped for, his temper delivers the words of challenge she longs to hear. 

" _Fine_ , then. If I'm such a lodestone for your troubles, let us swap. I'll _see_ these troubles for myself and _you_ can try to keep up with my myriad important duties." He huffs, proud of his solution.

Alisae leans back, arms crossed and smile well-buried. 

"I'd like to see you try and keep up with my regimen. You know my mornings start with the dawn."

Her brother swallows, early mornings a known weakness. But, once riled, his pride won't let him back down. He waves a hand in dismissal.

"I proposed the swap, I will see it through. That said, should I find no trace of these sibling-inflicted travails--"

"You can have my desserts for a month and my library checkout privileges."

Bookworm that he is, Alphinaud brightens at the promise of doubled book withdrawals more than the sweets. He rubs his hands together in anticipation, cocky grin on his face.

"Very well, I do look forward to those stacks of books checked out under your name dear sister."

Alisae, already on her way out, merely salutes and thinks of her coming victory.

* * *

"You want me to wear _what_ \--?"

"Hsst--do you want to wake the whole house?" 

Alisae claps a hand over Alphinaud's slack jaw, shushing the affronted academic. His face is ghastly pale as he stares at the Studium approved workout gear. Accented in Alisae's favorite red, the shorts and tank top are built for ease of motion. 

"You can't show up in your blues, Alphinaud. It'll give the swap away in moments! And you don't want to lose before you've even begun, right?"

Grumbling, he shakes his head. 

"Then hurry up and dress! Jogging starts in a quarter bell and you need to be on the field before then."

Groaning, morose, he picks up the uniform and begins to dress. Alisae swiftly exits the room and heads to his. Half the satisfaction of riling her brother into a swap is watching him struggle to play the part, and she won't trade _anything_ to miss it.

Plus, if this morning's pattern holds true, there will be a shrill wakeup for him on arrival.

* * *

Bleary eyed, Alphinaud yawns and joins the group assembling on the Studium track. One student or other gives him a friendly slap on the back hard enough that he staggers forward.

"Oh! Sorry there Alisae. Didn't realize you were still waking." They apologise. Peering closer at his blank expression, their eyes narrow. "You look...different this morning."

Alarm that the ruse might already be up flares through Alphinaud, and as his sleep sticky mind scrabbles for the words to _fix this_ a familar voice calls out.

"Don't be too hard on her this morning hmm?" A practiced inflection drives Alisae's voice up fanciful immitation of her brother's. "She was helping me research all night. I'm here as penance."

Alphinaud's accuser turns to face Alisae, clad in her brother's blue workout gear. Leaning on the fence ringing the track, she is the spitting image of her twin-to ordinary eyes, at least. Shrugging, the suspicious student gives Alphinaud a lighter tap and apologises again for the rough greeting. 

"At least your brother is here this time for your cheer squad."

Alphinaud's mouth is halfway towards asking what the student means by that when an ear piercing shriek fills his sensitive ears. Far too loud at even a decent hour of the day, with the sun barely cresting the horizon it is _ungodly_. 

"By the Twelve, what--"

He claps his hands over his ears to mute the din, spinning to find its source. And there, at the fence where Alisae was mere moments ago, a small gaggle of girls _clearly_ not dressed for the track mill in place. Alphinaud's stomach drops. He recognizes those faces. There, Florenzel from Arcanima classes. And next to her, Y'naia from art and sculpture. With growing dismay, he picks out each face and name from his classes-ladies whom he had tried to impress (and apparently succeeded!). Yet, how had they found their way _here_ , to bother his sister?

"Good luck Alphinaud~" They chorus as the teacher sounds the command to start jogging. On instinct he follows the instruction, and quickly falls behind the actually fit students. Lips pursing at the obvious disparity, he reaches for aether and recites a small incantation under his breath. He needs more information, and blowing cover now is unacceptable. Besides, it's not as though he's _really_ competing. 

In a few moments he catches up with the pack of students, and a few moments more loops him in front of the out-of-place group. Listening intently, he catches snippets of conversation before they chorus a 'good luck' to him again. It takes a few laps more that have his knees weakening and lungs burning from the unaccustomed exertion before he puts together a picture that makes sense.

These ladies, his classmates, have fallen for his sister. Oh, while it is his attempts at wooing them with his impressive academics that initially caught their eye, they've somehow stumbled upon his sister training and glued themselves to her. 

Several laps more and he feels ready to collapse, but this trial of a day is just starting. There is insufficient data as to how this has all come about. He changes swiftly into Alisae's school uniform, their swapped hair clasp the only appreciable difference between them this time. Striding off to class, he finds the lesson content surprisingly dense. Only a little begrudgingly, he cedes that Alisae's curriculum may rival his own. (He hopes she is holding up well in _his_ classes). The day passes in a blur, the effort of maintaining his act just as difficult as the classes he struggles through. And then, as the day draws to a close, a familar face with inverted hair clasp catches him on his way home.

"Ah-ah dear sister." Alisae _tsks_ at the disguised Alphinaud. "There is still _sparring practice_ tonight."

She pushes him back down the hall towards the gym, ignoring his protests as he digs in his heels.

"Wait _-wait_ \--" He shouts. "You were right!"

Alisae halts, and Alphinaud stumbles and nearly falls at the abrupt change of pace. Rubbing his neck ruefully, he turns to face his sister. She stands triumphant with arms crossed, and he winces at the 'told-you-so' grin spreading across her face. Exuding smugness, she waits for him to find his words.

"Yes, you were right. I caused the debacle that's been following you around." He admits, embarrassment bright on his cheeks. "But! I think I also have a solution."

Alisae tilts her head, listening.

"They may have followed me initially but I think they're still following you because you're-well- _you._ "

"That's not terribly clear, dear brother."

"What I'm trying to say is, why not _show them_ who's who and approach the cheering section from there? I do believe they will prove pliable to your demands once shown the reality of what has happened."

Alisae ponders his suggestion, taking long enough to mull it over that Alphinaud begins to fidget in place. 

"...very well. But only if you actually spar me. I'll consider that my concession from this whole affair." 

Chagrined, Alphinaud links his arm in Alisae's and heads towards the gym.

"As milady demands. But, please, don't bruise my face?"

Alisae snickers and shifts to throw her arm over her frustrating, irreplaceable brother's shoulders in comradely spirit.

"No promises."

**Author's Note:**

> A silly little look at the oft alluded to but never detailed time the twins spent at the Studium together. I hope it's as fun to read as it was to write!
> 
> Thanks as always to the [Bookclub discord](https://discord.gg/PvbG45u) for their infectious enthusiasm <3  
> If you're interested in chatting with FFXIV fic readers and writers alike, feel free to click the discord link and join in!


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